The latest senior moves in the North American wealth management sector.

Fiduciary Trust International
Fiduciary Trust International has appointed Robert W Murphy as a wealth director. He will be based in the firm’s Boca Raton office.

Murphy was most recently partner and head of business development and compliance at Applied Investments in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

In this position, Murphy developed and ran relationships with qualified eligible purchaser clients, including high net worth and ultra-HNW individuals, family offices, and institutions. Murphy was previously managing director of investor relations and business development at a boutique asset management firm in West Palm Beach. Earlier in his career, he was a practicing tax attorney in West Palm Beach.

Fiduciary Trust International, which celebrated its 90th anniversary last year, has strong ties to the South Florida region.

The New York-based group, operating since 1931, has more than $86 billion in assets under management, as of June 30. It is a subsidiary of New York-based Franklin Templeton.

PwC
This week PwC appointed Eric Janson as global private equity, real assets and sovereign funds leader in the US, taking over from Will Jackson-Moore, who has been appointed PwC’s global ESG leader.

Janson will also continue his role as a member of the US private equity leadership team, the firm said in a statement.

As PwC’s private equity leader, Janson will coordinate and leverage over 23,000 global deals professionals in 22 territories across the firm's network which serves fund and portfolio companies.

The team will continue to prioritize investments in digital and technology transformation and ESG capabilities to clients, PwC added.

The US-based appointment comes as PwC expands its focus on ESG for the PE and sovereign investment fund industry, increasing investment and adding resources to improve clients' ability to integrate ESG into their strategies, the firm said. 

Welcoming the move, Kevin Burrowes, global clients & industries leader, PwC UK, said: “This is a transformational time for the PE industry. As the price of deals has soared, firms are more challenged to create value in their investment portfolios."

"He brings decades of experience and exceptional insight in maximizing PE value for some of PwC’s biggest clients. ESG is increasingly at the core of the value equation and he is intensely focused with our team across the network on helping PE clients formulate their ESG strategies and then helping them implement effectively, building trust and creating sustainable outcomes," he stressed.

Janson added: “We have ambitious growth plans and continue to build out our capabilities globally. We’ve accelerated our investments in digital transformations, with data and analytics resources and cloud capabilities, working with our industry-leading alliances."

"We have also made significant investments in people and alliances to support our ESG capabilities. PwC brings together resources, across functions and globally to support clients form strategic and operational consulting to due diligence in evaluating transactions," he said.      

Janson has been in the deals industry with PwC United States for more than 20 years. He has worked with some of the US firm’s largest global private equity clients on some of their most significant transactions, it added. 

Hightower
The Lerner Group at Hightower Advisors has named three new partners.

Michael Schneider has been an active member of the investment research committee during his tenure as a wealth advisor. He will continue to help families and serve as the practice's alternative investment specialist. He received his MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Megan Kowalski has served in a variety of leadership roles throughout her tenure, including in recent years as a wealth advisor. As a partner, she will focus on multi-generational estate and financial planning, and promoting financial literacy. Kowalski received her executive MBA from Notre Dame.

David Sokolovsky serves as a wealth advisor and the practice's head of financial planning. He brings a diverse background in insurance and strategy consulting and will lead the firm's efforts to build more robust family office capabilities. He earned his MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.